Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Using the Television Program Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Adolescent Therapy and Psychodynamic Education

Dr. Schlozman is a Fellow in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, WACC-812, Boston, MA 02114. Address reprint requests to Dr. Schlozman.

Psychodynamic concepts are frequent themes throughout popular culture. For this reason, movies, books, and even television shows offer rich opportunities for the examination of important psychological constructs. Given the current popularity of vampire stories within adolescent groups, the psychodynamic themes woven throughout the vampire myth deserve special attention. In particular, the television program Buffy the Vampire Slayer uniquely displays key adolescent developmental challenges. In discussing the psychodynamic significance of vampires, with special attention to the characteristics of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this article demonstrates both the use of displacement in adolescent therapy, as well the utilization of the Buffy’s story as a means of teaching important psychodynamic concepts.